5 Business Time Saving Tips - Pet Business Owners

When you run a business you don’t always have as much time as you would like to do the things you need to grow your business, so it is important to make the most of the time that you do have.

It’s so easy to get distracted by the newest blog post you must read, the drama going on in a facebook group you belong to, and if you work from home the pile of laundry that you need to get done.

I’ve struggled with all these things, but I have found the following few tips helped me get structured when I just HAD to get things done.

1. Make a List

I absolutely LOVE lists (and if they are made in a nice notebook even better!). I think they really help you get clear on what you need to get done. Usually there are a bunch of little things you can get done really quick, which gives you a sense of satisfaction that you have ticked things off early in the day. It also gives you chance to look at what you actually have to do. Sometimes you can feel overwhelmed by the things you have to do, but when you break them down into a list you can prioritise them and make the most urgent ones top of your list. If you like making lists online you could use excel or a free software like Evernote to keep your lists organised.

2. Get Focused

What are you actually trying to achieve that day/week? Do you have it clear in your mind the outcome you want? Having a goal for the day to get more customers is not going to make things happen. You need to think about how you want to do it, break it down into activities and make actionable goals for the day. Sit down with a piece of paper, excel work sheet or word document and brain storm a list of things you can do to achieve that goal and make a plan from there. Get clear on what you want.

[bctt tweet=”Get clear and focused on what you want!”]

3. Turn off Social Media

I can be the worst for checking Facebook morning, noon and night to see if there is anything interesting that I can read or look at. Really though when you have work to get done, and you need to think clearly and focus, you need to turn it off. Even if you turn it off for an hour to get one task done without interruption, you will find you are more productive. And to add to that you will have missed NOTHING on facebook or twitter that you can’t read about after you have your task done. Don’t be distracted by instant messages and notifications – let people wait.

4. Batch Your Work

This is something that has saved me loads of time. Things like blog post, images, scheduling posts etc I would do all at once. So for example if I wanted to send out a couple of motivational quotes each week I would create images for the entire month or even two. Same with blogging -I might set aside a day to write blog posts and get them all scheduled ready to go out throughout the month. It’s much more time effective for me to spend a longer period of time on one task for the month, than it is for me to constantly be creating different content each week.

5. Take a Break

Sounds unproductive, but if you are not getting things done because you can’t seem to find the focus you need then step away from your desk, take a break and re group. Have a cuppa, take the dog out, read a book. Even if it’s only for 15 minutes you will go back to your tasks refreshed.